CORNER OF YORKSHIRE Church of St Thomas a’ Becket

THE hilltop village of Heptonstall above the Calder Valley is unique in having two churches within one graveyard. The older building, dedicated to the English martyr St Thomas a’ Becket, was built between 1256 and 1260 as a chapelry of St Pancras Priory in Lewes, Sussex. Later additions included a tower and two chantry chapels – minichurches with their own altars.

It served the spiritual needs of that part of the South Pennines as Heptonstall became an important centre in the cottage industry of hand-loom weaving. Many of the weavers’ homes remain, with notably large upstairs windows which were designed to provide more light for weaving. As the Industrial Revolution gathered pace in the 19th century, textile production relying on water power moved down to Calderdale

towns like Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd.

The severe north-east gale on December 8 1847 tore down the west face of the church tower, and it was deemed necessary to construct a new building. This was completed in 1854 at a cost of £7,000. A decision was taken to dismantle parts of the old church to make it safe and preserve its shell.

In the graveyard, between the ruin and the new church, is the grave of David ‘King’ Hartley (17291770), leader of the notorious Cragg Vale Coiners, whose story was told in last year’s BBC drama series The Gallows Pole. Another draw for visitors is the grave of American poet and novelist, Sylvia Plath, who was married to fellow poet Ted Hughes, who spent his early life in Mytholmroyd. She took her own life in 1963.